Dash Light Electrical Question

[GreatOne34]

Hello all Charger experts,

AS a new Owner, having inherited a 69 base model that was "restored" about 15 years ago with a 440, I have a question. I would like to be able to drive out to shows and meets after dinner, but the dash lights are not working. Thought it might be the switch, but when I turn the dimmer all the way up, the dome light comes on. Any thoughts / ideas would be greatly appreciated. What you all are doing here is great, I appreciate reading the posts from those more knowledgeable than me. I am hoping to be a worthy caretaker of the car and the forum is helping.

MK

[70 sublime]

Try rolling the dimmer switch up and down a few times
The coil could be just cruded up and moving it a few times may clean it off enough to make contact again

Do you know if the lights ever worked in the past ?

[A383Wing]

still could be the dimmer switch....the dash lights and dome light are different circuits

[doctor4766]

Try rolling the dimmer switch up and down a few times
The coil could be just cruded up and moving it a few times may clean it off enough to make contact again

Do you know if the lights ever worked in the past ?

Yep. And sometimes there is just 1 spot on the dial that the lights will work at.
It's a case of rolling the switch slowly until the lights come on. 

[JimShine]

It's a case of rolling the switch slowly until the lights come on. 

Exactly. Go very, very slow, and do it a few times. You will hit a "sweet spot" eventually and the lights will come on.

[GreatOne34]

Thanks much for the replies, I really appreciate the info. Supposedly they did work, though very dimly according to people associated with the car. Will be diving into it the following weekend. Will reach out once again if additional help is needed. I hope everyone has a great day

MK

[A383Wing]

I have a guy that rebuilds the dash light dimmer switch to as-new condition if you are interested

Bryan

[70 sublime]

The ones in my car are not very bright
It all depends on how much dust and dirt on the lights and how clean the inside of the clear cluster cover is
It also helps if the gauges themselves are nice and white and not faded yellow like the unrestored ones can be

[GreatOne34]

Good Morning All,

Bryan, thanks much for the offer. I will be looking into the dash next weekend. I will reach out if I think that is the road to go down. I hope you have a great day

Mike K

[472 R/T SE]

I remember back in the day just replacing clusters and maybe robbing a few parts off old one before it hit the trash, lol.

[ALBSURE1091]

You can also bypass the dimmer part of the switch with some jumper wires.  when you turn on headlights the dash lights will just go on with the headlights. There is a thread on here somewhere on how to do it. Good luck in finding it.